“If somebody had told you that, this season, a team would break a Premier League record by scoring seven successive non-penalty set-piece goals, who would you guess? Mikel Arteta’s set-piece machine at Arsenal? Brentford, who appointed a set-piece coach as their manager? Either way, Liverpool would probably not have been towards the top of your list. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
“Arsenal have cleared another major hurdle in their bid for the Premier League title. Mikel Arteta’s side restored their five-point advantage at the top of the table with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Chelsea, which once again relied on their prowess at dead balls, with both of their goals coming from corners. Chelsea looked impressive for long spells and had a goal disallowed for offside in stoppage time, but were ultimately undone by Pedro Neto’s second-half red card — yet another moment of indiscipline that has cost them dearly this term as they pursue Champions League qualification. We analyse the main talking points. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
YouTube: arsenal vs chelsea 2-1 Highlights & All Goals premier league
Benjamin Sesko makes it 1-1 deep in stoppage time at West Ham.
“Benjamin Sesko’s career at Manchester United breaks into two distinct periods. In the first, he played 1,404 minutes of football and scored two goals. In the second, he has played 274 minutes and scored six goals: 702 minutes per goal and then 45 minutes 40 seconds per goal. There’s a very obvious explanation. On 4 January, Sesko toiled in a 1-1 draw at Leeds. He didn’t manage a shot on target. He completed only 76% of his passes. He didn’t attempt a dribble but still lost possession five times. He was caught offside twice. On 5 January, Ruben Amorim was sacked. On 6 January, Sesko scored both goals in a 2-2 draw at Burnley. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
“FIFA says it is focusing on ‘everybody participating’ in this summer’s World Cup in the wake of the American military attack on Iran. The U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on major Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran, on Saturday after weeks of mounting diplomatic tension. Iran has retaliated with its own missile attacks on Israel and U.S. air bases in the Gulf region, including in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. Iran secured qualification for its fourth successive World Cup in March 2025 and is due to play group-stage matches in June against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles and Egypt in Seattle. It is scheduled to be based at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Scissors Kick 